New Podcast Interview

I recently did an interview about publishing and social media marketing. You can listen to it at this link.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Leilimckinleycom/~3/ZTOq9UMyvuI/

New Book Review

Fatally Yours just did a glowing review of my book. You can read it here.

http://www.fatally-yours.com/horror-literature/book-review-shadows-in-the-mist-by-brian-moreland/

Overcoming Writer's Block

Several writers have written me asking how to overcome writer's block.

If you're struggling with writer's block, don't get discouraged. I get stuck many times in the middle of a book and don't feel like writing. I'm not always in the creative flow, but I make myself write anyway. Here are a few ways I get back into the creative flow of writing:

1.) Do anything that's creative. Paint pictures, write poetry, work in Photoshop, make a scrapbook, edit a video. Then go back to writing. When I'm stuck, I paint paintings on canvass. It really activates my creativity. The key is to keep exercising the creative part of your brain.

2). Do freewriting. This is where you spend 15 minutes or more a day writing whatever comes off the top of your head. Ignore punctuation. Just write freely. Allow it to be totally random. You might change subjects many times. You might mix fiction with journalling or vent frustrations. The process trains your brain to tap into the words inside your head and gives them a place to live on your computer screen.

3.) Get your body into flow. Dance or do yoga. This may sound funny, but when you get your body into flow, your mind follows. Meditate and take long, deep breaths. A relaxed mind is more open. An open mind is more imaginative. And you can focus longer when you are in a peaceful state.

4.) Carve out some time in your schedule just for writing. At least 3 to 4 hours. Turn off the phone. Tell your loved ones to honor your space so you can write without distractions. Clean up your work space. A cluttered desk puts the mind in a state of confusion.

5.) Write really early in the morning. When you first wake up, your brain is still in Theta mode, the brainwave pattern that you are in when you have dreams. Some of my best writing happens at 4 or 5 a.m. when I'm still half asleep.

6.) The Glass-of-Water Technique. This is my best technique for overcoming writer's block. Before bed, fill up a glass of water. Hold it up and speak an intention. (Example: My intent is to tap into my creative source and write brilliantly tomorrow). Then drink half the water and set the other half on your nightstand. Go to sleep. When you wake up the next morning drink the rest of the water immediately. Then go straight to your computer and write at least an hour without distraction. This may seem a bit woo-woo, but give it a try. Do this technique for three nights straight. It gets me out of my writer's block every time.

I offer coaching and consulting to writers. To see my coaching packages visit: http://brianmoreland.com/coachingforwriters/coachingpackages.html:

What to Do When Your Muse Is Missing

An aspiring writer wrote: Dear Mr. Moreland, For the longest time I enjoyed writing short stories. I found it fun. But now it seems as if I can't produce anything. For many months now I have been at a loss for words, nothing seems to come to me. And there is no more energy in my writing. I think maybe I'm starting to give up, but yet the other part of me doesn't want me to. I was wondering if you could give me any advice.

First question I would ask is what's important to you about writing? Are you doing it just for fun? An emotional outlet like a journal or blog? Or are you wanting to publish and be a career author?

List the top 10 reasons why you are driven to write. This will remind you why you chose to become a writer in the first place and give you a greater sense of purpose.

If writing really isn't that important to you, let it go and find another hobby. It takes a lot of discipline to churn out short stories and manuscripts on a regular basis. If, on the other hand, writing is an inner calling, a voice that won't quit, keep looking for ways to motivate yourself. You may just have something brilliant in you that will inspire a lot of people once you sit down and write it.

Your challenge could be that you are locked into one mode of thinking. I use two types of writing modes:

1.) Right Brain Writing - When you are in this mode, you are highly creative and your imagination is very active. It's easy to invent fictional characters, stories, or essays that come from the heart. All emotional writing happens in "Right Brain" mode. In this mode, I can write non-stop for hours. It's the best time to write new chapters and have the most fun.

2.) Left Brain Writing - When I'm not in the creative flow, my mind is typically more left-brained. I do not feel connected to my muse. However, I am very organized and can work on other aspects of my book, like outlining and editing. This is a good time to look at your manuscript from the big picture. When I'm outlining, I catch problems with the story flow that I don't catch when I'm in my creative writing mode.

If you're a published author, "Left-Brain" mode is also a great time to handle the business side of writing. Schedule book signings and market books. Surf the net for book reviewers and blogs that interview authors. Deposit royalty checks in the bank and negotiate movie deals with Hollywood producers. So it's great to be left-brained part of the time. You just don't want to stay in this mode or it's difficult to feel inspired to create anything from your imagination.

Writing is a discipline. If you are a serious writer, you will make time to write something even when it's not flowing so well. Explore training your right brain to be more creative and discover at what time of day you write the best. If writing is truly your calling, never give up.

In the next post I'll offer some tips for overcoming writer's block ...

I offer coaching and consulting to writers. To see my coaching packages visit: http://brianmoreland.com/coachingforwriters/coachingpackages.html:

Descriptive Writing

My friend DJ from Facebook asked for some tips on being a more descriptive writer.

First, read a lot of books from various authors. When you come across a descriptive passage you really like, read it again, study it. Notice what verbs and adjectives they used. Write that passage in a journal or type it. I've written passages from other books, from Stephen King to Dean Koontz, and that helped put me in the mindset of that author. It impacted my writing.

Learn to write poetry. Even if it's bad poetry. It teaches you about the rhythm of language. I spent some time writing a number of poems, some good, some not so good, but I trained my brain to write more descriptively. When you write flowery poetry for awhile and then go back to writing prose, you'll discover your writing has become naturally more descriptive.

Learn a plethora of new vocabulary. Play some vocabulary games. Challenge yourself to use words you don't normally use. I keep a Thesaurus handy, and when I'm revising a draft, I swap out plain words for more descriptive words.

Learn to use figurative language such as hyperbole, simile, metaphor, symbolism and personification. Knowing these gives you a great foundation for descriptive writing. And for the most part it is better to show than tell. Rather than narrate what's happening from the author's point of view, play the scene out from the character's point of view.

And remember that descriptions are also visual details of what's happening in your scene. I'll often write a first draft that doesn't have a lot of description. Just some basic action and dialogue. But then I'll re-read the chapter over and over, visualizing what's happening, and that's when I add more visual details.

I describe in ways that invoke the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. My goal is for the reader to feel like they are in the scene, experiencing it through multiple senses. For instance, in the war scenes in my novel I described what my character Lt. Jack Chambers is seeing--the battlefield, the fog seeping through the war-torn forest, enemy soldiers charging between the trees. Then I added in some sound effects, like gunshots and explosions, soldiers yelling, the metallic crunch of tank tracks rolling over rubble. Then touch: the heat of the blast scorching the soldier's skin. Then taste: his mouth filling with dust and grit. And smell: the stench of death all around him. When you combine descriptions of all five senses, you create a visceral experience for your readers.

Keep challenging yourself to improve your craft and your descriptions will get better over time.

Publishing Missteps: Three Big Mistakes I'd Like to Do Over

When I first self-published my novel, SHADOWS IN THE MIST, I made a few missteps that taught me some lessons. First, I waited too long to contact book reviewers like Library Journal, Midwest Book Review, and local newspapers. My book was due to release in September, and I waited until about six weeks prior to contact book reviewers. I learned from reading their guidelines that they require books to be submitted for review SIX MONTHS before the release date. So I launched my book without any reviews to help it off the ground. If you are self-publishing, be thinking six to eight months ahead of your release date. Contact as many reviewers as you can. Here are a couple links for book reviewers.

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/links/othr_rev.htm http://www.geocities.com/ladyjiraff/reviewers.html

Another misstep I made was I came across a marketing company advertising they had a program called "The Bestseller Program." They offered consulting on how to make your book a "Bestseller." I paid a $1,000 for a couple of phone consultations that didn't really offer me much. First thing they told me was they couldn't guarantee my book would become a bestseller, so the program was misleading. Now that I've been in the publishing business awhile, I know that no one can predict if a book by a first-time author is going to be a bestseller. I ended up wasting $1,000 I could have put into advertising or bought a nice suit and some new shoes. So, authors beware of book marketing companies that promise you're book will be a bestseller.

My last misstep was I waited till six months after my book's release to get involved with social media groups such as Redroom and other popular sites like Facebook and Twitter. I wasn't much of a social networker and saw them as a waste of time. After hearing numerous success stories from other people marketing through social media, I finally jumped on the bandwagon. And saw a huge spike in book sales. Now, I've connected with hundreds of book lovers, writers, and book reviewers through social networking and I'm having a blast doing it. Had I known the benefits of social media marketing a year before my book's release, I could have built up some buzz and had readers ready to buy my book the day it released. When I release my next novel, DEAD OF WINTER, I'll be able to email a few thousand people prior to the book launch. Live and learn.

Do What You Love and The Money Will Come ... Eventually

A student I met online wrote:

Dear Mr. Moreland, I am curious about being a published author and what my chances are at being successful. My teacher says, "Do what you love and the money will come." Would you as a writer agree with that statement and say it is true?

I agree with your teacher, "do what you love and the money will come," eventually. Just know that being an author is a lot more than just writing fiction or non-fiction books. There's a whole business to it. I spend several hours each week focused on marketing, blogging, and writing the next book. It's a job where you do a lot of work up front and the rewards pay off later, in dividends. But I love being an author and that's why I'm willing to do the work.

Most book writers I know, including myself, have a backup career that pays the bills while we write books. Bestselling author James Rollins, for instance, was veterinarian. Stephen King started out as a high school teacher. David Morrell and Gary Braver are writing professors at universities. My "day job" is working as a freelance video editor, editing documentaries and corporate videos. I write in between video projects or early in the morning, (5:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m). If you write enough books, and one or more of them become bestsellers or made into movies, then authors can earn enough to write full time and be paid millions for the books they put out. Just ask Stephanie Meyer of the Twilight series if her royalty checks cover her living expenses. Authors such as Stephen King, Nora Roberts, James Patterson, and Jim Butcher have achieved the ultimate dream of turning their writing into financial success. Not every writer who publishes a book achieves this, but it's certainly possible. I'm willing to guess that every successful author has two things in common: persistence and belief in their writing. They never give up and they keep believing what they are writing adds value to people's lives.

I also know a lot of writers who build a solid career around being a writer, like public speaking, publishing blogs, teaching seminars, teaching at universities, technical writing, copy writing, script writing, editing manuscripts, proofreading, journalism, writing magazine articles, etc. There are countless ways you can make money as a writer. All you have to do is find your niche--what you love to write most--and see if there is a career you can build around that.

So, again I say, if you love writing, if you have a strong enough passion to put in all the hours it takes to be successful, then definitely follow your dream. You don't have to be a celebrity author to make a steady living in this business. Just keep believing and keep writing. And keep your "day job" until those royalty checks finally start arriving in the mail.

Special thanks to Tyler K. from Facebook. I love receiving questions from aspiring writers and posting answers here on my blog. If you have a question about writing, publishing, or marketing, feel free to email Brian@BrianMoreland.com. I receive a lot of these, so I'll get to it as quick as I can. Brian